It appears in an effort to be “appalled” about something in his letter: “Rehoboth needs separation of church and state,” Mr. Nicholls is appalled about something that doesn’t exist.
Mr. Nicholls refers to the “flagrant violation of the United States Constitution” by the Rehoboth Beach government regarding a nativity scene erected on public property.
Mr. Nicholls also claims the spineless city council caved in fighting this clear violation of the First Amendment. But here’s the problem. The First Amendment states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”
Placing a nativity scene on public land doesn’t constitute the establishment of religion any more than our Sea Witch parade constitutes the establishment of Wicca as a religion. Further, Mr. Nicholls is “appalled” in regard to ignoring “the separation of church and state,” yet these words are not contained in our Constitution.
The last 20 months or so have been hard enough due to a pandemic. As we approach the holiday season, whether you celebrate religiously, in a secular fashion or both, maybe we should all work to be less “appalled” and more grateful.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
